Outside, the skies were now clearing up and the rain ceased falling as Lynn Jr returned to her seat in a dejected mood and Judge Callahan continued sentencing.
"Mr. and Mrs. Loud, I have decided that you'll serve time at the Kingsley Detention Center in Hazeltucky.
"I'm also granting the children's grandfather Albert custody of your other kids until suitable homes are found for them," she added.
What Judge Callahan said next was totally unexpected by everyone in the room and even Clyde himself. Howard and Harold glanced at each other in anticipation.
"Mr. and Mr. Harold McBride, will you approach the bench" she requested.
The husbands looked at each other eagerly and stood before the Judge in anticipation.
"Mr. and Mr. McBride I am hereby granting permission for you to become the legal guardians of Lincoln and Lucy Loud until the age of eighteen," she announced, making Rita gasp in disbelief.
Howard and Harold kept their composure and mentally cheered at their victory as Shirley and Ethan glanced at each other.
That morning while Howard McBride cooked breakfast and Clyde showered, Harold entered the study and began calling Judge Callahan.
"This is Judge Callahan, how may I help you," she replied upon answering the phone.
"Good morning, Your Honor, I'm Harold McBride your secretary told me if Howard and I had any questions about having Clyde testify that we should call you," Harold said.
"Mr. McBride, if your son got nervous about testifying he doesn't have to," she replied sympathetically.
"Oh Clyde wants to, but last night my husband Howard and I agreed on taking in Lincoln and Lucy and becoming their legal guardians until they reach the age of eighteen if their parents are sent to prison," Harold explained.
"Okay we'll see what happens, see you at the trial," she responded, before hanging up.
Albert, Lincoln and his sisters, especially Lucy sat there in astonishment at this sudden turn of events. Lincoln couldn't believe Clyde's dads would consider taking in one of his sisters due to the past incident when the girls visited their home and demanded so much attention from the McBride's.
"We'd like to obtain legal guardianship as quickly as possible," Harold continued.
The trial was now over but Aunt Shirley suddenly interrupted the Judge before she could strike the gavel.
"One moment Your Honor," Aunt Shirley said hurriedly.
"Could you state your name?" Judge Callahan inquired.
"Your Honor, my name is Mrs. Shirley Maxwell, the children's Aunt. My husband Ethan and I'd like to petition the court to get temporary custody of Luan, Lynn Jr. Lana, Lola, and Lisa. We can assure you we'll provide the proper home environment for the girls. Our house has three bedrooms and we would turn our study into another one for Lynn Jr.," Aunt Shirley spoke, astonishing the Loud family.
"Permission granted," Judge Callahan declared, "First you'll have to obtain an Order Granting Petition for Temporary Custody by Extended Family then contact a lawyer."
"We'll contact a lawyer as soon as possible to start the process," Uncle Ethan added.
"Mr. and Mrs. Loud I'll grant you a few moments with your children," the Judge said.
The parents rose from their seats and stood before their kids and Pop-Pop.
"Kids please listen to everything Pop-Pop tells you to, and Lori," Rita said tearfully, then hesitated a bit before continuing, "We'd like you to go to the prom and enjoy yourself."
"I-I will mom," Lori replied, willing herself not to break down.
"Albert I'm instructing you to pay the bills, the electric bill is due on Wednesday," Lynn Sr. added.
"Kids, you don't have to return to school until Tuesday," Rita said.
The officers remained stone faced while Judge Callahan looked upon the scene impassively and the Maxwell's were leaving the courtroom. Ms. Bolivar stuffed a few papers in her briefcase before departing.
"Court adjourned," the Judge declared before striking the gavel for a final time then made her departure.
With sadness, the children watched as two male police officers handcuffed then escorted their parents towards another entrance of the courtroom. Rita glanced back at her kids briefly, her face sporting a regretful expression.
In desperation the twin girls wailed to the officers, "Please don't take them, we promise to behave," making the parents heartbroken.
Albert and his grandchildren remained seated watching Rita and Lynn Sr. until they disappeared through the other door before Mr. Shapiro, sporting a poker face, approached them.
"I'm really sorry kids your parent's plea bargain didn't work," he said regretfully.
"You don't have to apologize, Mr. Shapiro," Albert replied.
"What about Lily, who's going to take her," Lincoln thought worriedly.
Mr. Shapiro held out his right hand towards Albert and said, "Here's my card, if there's anything else you need me to assist you and your grandchildren with, call me."
Albert placed the attorney's card in his shirt pocket and replied, "Thank you."
"Take good care of them, goodbye kids," were Mr. Shapiro's last words before departing.
"Let's go," Albert said in a low voice filled with total disappointment. Lori grabbed her handbag then Rita's own that was handed to her before the trial started, reached into her mother's bag and removed the car keys to Vanzilla.
"Pop-Pop, could you drive us home, I'm not in the mood to get behind the wheel," Lori requested.
"Sure Lori," Albert replied then Lori handed him the keys.
Lana and Lola were now sniffling and Lisa remained her usual expressionless face but she was actually feeling sadness and regret while Leni wiped away a few tears and there was a melancholic expression on Lincolns face.
The general mood amongst everyone as Albert drove towards home was disheartening to say the least. Lynn Jrs. mind wasn't focused on her impending sentence that would begin in three weeks but on having regrets about her actions that ultimately sent her parents to prison.
"If it wasn't for that baseball game, all this wouldn't have happened," Lynn Jr. thought regretfully. Meanwhile Lucy sat in the sweet stop simply stared out the window, melancholy as usual. Lori sat beside Albert in silence and peered over her shoulder at her younger siblings sitting behind her observing them for a moment. Albert felt exhausted and wasn't in the mood to fix dinner.
"I'll get one of the take out menus," he thought.
Aunt Ruth just woke up from sleeping on the couch minutes ago and was watching television after checking on Lily upstairs when Albert unlocked the front door. By the doleful expressions on everyone's faces when they walked inside the house, an uneasy feeling came over Aunt Ruth. Albert then looked at his sister and shook his head.
"Ruth, they were found guilty, the Judge gave them sixteen months," Albert told her gloomily.
"Oh, no," she uttered, then placed her right hand over her chest.
A few seconds of silence passed, then Lori said, "They also lost temporary custody of us except me, Leni and Luna," and Aunt Ruth's face turned a little pale.
"The Judge also granted the parents of Lincoln's friend Clyde legal guardianship of him and Lucy until they reach eighteen, and Shirley and Ethan are taking the rest except Lily," Albert explained.
Aunt Ruth replied, "Well at least they're not going to strangers."
"It's getting late, thanks for looking after Lily, Ruthie," Albert said.
Aunt Ruth retrieved her purse from the small table beside the sofa and replied, "She wasn't any trouble."
After Albert escorted his sister to the front door, he waited until Aunt Ruth got behind the wheel of her car and drove away before locking the door. Lucy had disappeared during the conversation and her siblings sat broken hearted on the couch.
"Kids I'm just going to order something from Haley's Kitchen, what should I get," he asked.
"I don't feel very hungry Pop-Pop," Luan replied dejectedly.
"Me too," Luna and Leni added.
The other children simply just followed Luan, Luna and Leni upstairs. Albert decided to order dinner anyway in case his grandkids felt the inclination to eat something later. He walked into the kitchen to retrieve the menu from the aforementioned diner. In Lincoln's bedroom the eleven year old kicked off his shoes before lying down on his bed.
"I'll eat something later," Lincoln thought.
Exhausted Lincoln rested his head on the pillow and merely stared at the ceiling until he needed to use the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Leni and Lori rested on their beds, with Lori wondering if she should call Bobby later on to inform him about the trial's outcome.
"I'll just wait until tomorrow and call Bobby," Lori thought before falling asleep.
Albert had dozed off on the couch while waiting for the food to arrive, the doorbell ringing had woken him from his slumber. After paying the delivery woman, Albert ate some of the baked chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. Later Lincoln woke up from a short nap and saw his grandfather asleep on the sofa. After warming some of the food, Lincoln joined Luna who arrived before him at the dining table where the siblings ate in silence. Eventually Lori and the twins came downstairs and Lori placed some of the food on paper plates for the twins then for herself.
Lincoln returned to his bedroom after putting his paper plate into the trash bin and changed into his orange PJs.
Sunday
It was noon the following day when Lincoln eventually awoke with sunlight shining through the little window of his bedroom. He waited a few seconds before leaving the comfort of his bed and stepped into the hallway. Passing by the twin's bedroom, he could hear soft crying from behind the door and curiosity made Lincoln peek inside where he observed Lana standing beside the terrarium where Hops was sleeping. Lincoln went up to the older twin to comfort her.
"Hey Lana, what's the matter?" he began.
Lana turned around to face her only brother and sniffled.
"Suppose Aunt Shirley doesn't want me to bring my pets when I move in with her," Lana declared sadly.
Knowing that his Aunt wasn't a great animal lover, Lincoln knew she wasn't a cold hearted person to tell Lana to give her remaining pets away.
'Lana, I bet she won't object to your keeping them if you promise her they won't be a trouble to her," Lincoln reassured her.
"Thanks Lincoln," Lana replied then embraced him.
Lincoln rushed downstairs to have a late breakfast, meanwhile in her bedroom Lori was calling Bobby.
A/N: In the next chapter, Lily's future will be revealed